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2018 Blind Spot Series: Akira

What I knew going in: That many people consider this either their favorite anime or what got them into anime in the first place. Kaneda is a leader of a biker gang into Neo-Tokyo. After witnessing a strange event, one of his friends and fellow gang members, Tetsuo gets kidnapped and put into a secret government test program that leaves him with telekinesis and a raging temper. Kaneda happens upon a group of activists who help him try to save his friend. This ended up being one of my alternates. My original Blind Spot pick was Suddenly, Last Summer, then suddenly, someone decided to hoard the Netflix DVD and my local library didn't have a copy for back up. I've been watching a lot of Attack on Titan lately, so I figured Akira would make for a decent watch. About that...To start off, I realize I'm quite sensitive when it comes to sexual assault in movies. I'm not going to lie, if I'm not prepared for it happening and it makes zero sense in the story's context it can easily ruin an entire experience for me. (Hello, The Killing Joke) Which brings us to this film, which is very violent, but of course it's only a woman getting forcibly stripped and punched in the face here. That scene, which happens early on was so sexist that it put me in a mood and it never got better. Especially when that same character ends up dying for the male she got punched over. There are some things I think Akira does well. The premise itself is very intriguing but I didn't feel it did a good job of explaining it. It's over two hours long and it's really running on its last leg by the time it gets there. The characters get little to no development which makes the fact that none of them are likable or remotely interesting even worse.I wonder if I had walked away from my TV momentarily and missed that early scene if I would've viewed the rest of it with less annoyance? I guess I'll never know.Recommended: NoGrade: DMemorable Quote: "This has got to be a trap." - Kaneda

I watched this last year as a Blind Spot and enjoyed it a great deal. Then again, that particular scene didn't affect me the same. I saw it, and honestly, brushed it off as a relic of the times in which it was made and soaked in all the amazing visuals. I can definitely understand your distaste, though.

LAMB #753

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